Improvement in machine for planting cotton-seed



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JAMES A'RQMSTRONG, O-F BUorn s, 01110. Letters Patent No. 71,263,.0Zated Nooember 26, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT 1r MACHINE FOR PLANTING oorroresrso.

Be it known that I, JAMES ARMSTRONG, of the town of Bucyrus, in the county of Crawford, and State of v Ohio, have invented a new and useful Machine for Planting Cotton-Seeds; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being bad to the annexed'drawinga making a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a front view of the cotton-planter.

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the same.

Figure 3 is a top view of the same.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the interior and exterior of the box or case the spikes, and brushes.

Figure 5 is a viewof the cylinder-grooves and spikes.

Figure 6 is a view of the bottom of the cylinder and small inclined planes.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the sides and bottom of the rim or lower part of the case, the springlever, and upright shaft. I

A A are the driving-wheels,'which are connected by an axle underneath the machine, the wheels being fastened rigidly to the axle, which revolves. Near the right wheel, to the right hand of the operator, and attached to said axle, isa small. wheel or pinion, B, revolving, or, rather, stationary on the axle when the, machine is moving backward, but which movesforward with the driving-wheels when they move forward, in the manner hereinafter described. 0, figs. 3 and 4, is'a cylinder, which may be of wood, with an iron covering, of the shape hereinafter described, on the lower. portion of the same, or, what I prefer,'is all iron, the inside being tubular. On the upper portion of the oylinder'C, which is of a conical shape, orslightly curved, are set iron spikes c c c c c, fig. 5. There are grooves on the outer surface of the lower portion of .said cylinder 0, being D D D D, fig. 5, similar to the threads of a screw or auger, of the proper size to admit between them a row of cotton-seeds lying longitudinally, and which will pass therein, serz'atz'm, as hereinafter described. The grooves D D, 8tc., are open above, and closed at the lower end, and incline at an angle of about forty degrees, circling around the cylinder, but the inclination may be varied by increasing or diminishing the same, as experience may dictate. At the lower end of each of the grooves D D D D are oblong aper 'tures through the hollow cylinder C, which, at thispoint, is quite thin, and I these apertures are of the proper size to admit a spring, N, fig. 7, hereinafter described, to strike andexpel the cotton-seeds. On the inner: side and lower edge of said cylinder 0, and attached to-the same, between each of 'said'apertures, are inclined planes J J J, fig. 6, with they slopes in the same direction of said grooves D D, fig. 5, and terminating squarely and abruptly at the opposite end at the beginning of the next aperture aforesaid. Above these inclined planes J J and said apertures, and contiguous thereto, is a flange or inner rim, which serves to keep the springN to. its place. The cylinder 0 is'so constructed in its interior as to be revolvedhorizontally by a horizontal shaft, driven by the main driving-wheels A A, fig. 1. E, fig. 2, is a master-wheel, attached to the lower end of the shaft F, fig. 7, which passes upward into cylinder 0, and revolves the same. The master-wheel E is turned by the pinion B, and so revolves the cylinder, which rests on said'shaft, and pivoted at its upper end. G, fig. 4, is a circularbox or case, which sets over the cylinder 0, and having an intervening space of about onesixteenth of an inch outside the flanges of said grooves D D. Across the upper end of this case is a brace, having a circular aperture, in which the upper end of the cylinder is pivoted and revolves On the upper part of "said case, and inside thereof, are spikes of iron at n, corresponding to the spikes c c c on the cylinder 0, but so set as not to interfere with said spikes c c 'c, and to admit the free passage of cotton-seeds between the spikes of the cylinder and those 'of the case without breaking or injuring said seeds. On the lower portion of the inside of case G are brushes h h, which may be rolind or longitudinal, and these brushes may be of hair, but should be soft and pliant.v Woollen cloth barely projecting inside the case will serve the same purpose. I prefer pieces of dried raw hide with the hair on, so set that the hair may project inside the case. The brushes It it, or their equivalent, may be set in the case, or may be set in a circular aperture by a. screw or pin. I, figs. 1 and 2, isthe base or platform of the machine, having a narrow rim, J, in which the case G fits, and which is a lower section of said case. At the rearof rim Jis an opening at a, and slots (1, to operate the cut-off. K is 'aslide or cut-off, to open or close the opening at a, which'fits against the inner side of rim J. The slide-K L has a projection or small arm on its lower' edge, which passes through the slot at cl, where it is attached to a small slide, L, fig. 2, which lies against and is moved on the under side of the bottom of thelower section of said case, resting on said platform I. This small slide L extends from its said connection with slide over slot (1, where there is attached to it, through said slot at, a flat arm, resting against the bottom of the lower section of the case, and which arm works in the forked end. of a lever, M, which is flat, and is held by a pivot at one end at e, and at the forked end thereof, aforesaid, has a perpendicular pin or arm, which pushes back and con. trols a spring, N, as hereinafter described. N is a metallic spring, having the larger and inner end attached to the bottom of said case at f. The outer and smaller end of said spring terminates at said opening in the lower side of said case at a, and rests against the perpendicular arm of said pivoted and forked lever M. O,

fig. 2, is a long lever, pivoted near its cntre,on the lower side of the machine, having an arm turned up, and

passing through a slot in the platform I at g, and terminating above the machine to the right of the operators seat, and having a handle, by which he may operate said lever. The other end is hinged orpivoted to the small slide L, and operates the. slide K, the pivoted lever M, and consequently at the same time controls the spring N. P, 'figs, 1 and 2, is a clutch of the ordinary kind, which is kept to its place by a, lever and spring, and. operates to throw the machine out of gear, and suspend its work whena backward motion is given; and the operator may also throw it out of gear when moving forward by pulling the upper. end of the lever laterally toward him as he sits on his seat. Q is a tube, extending from the opening at a on the lower side 'of the bottom'of the cylinder-case downward into the surface of the ground. The lower end of said tube is shaped as a ground-cultivator or shovel-plough of the ordinary kind. It ishinged at the upper end, and is braced by a rod hooked to a staple in the front side of said tube, and extending to an eye-fastening on the under side of the machine at k, where it is fastened by a wooden pin, so that in the event of the tube striking a stone or other obstruction, thepin' may break in preference to other parts of the machine, and permit the tube P to swing back by its hinges if such obstacle be immovable. The tube may also be raised and lowered by the devices now in use in ordinary seed-drills; The lower section of the cylinder-case is firmly attached to and incorporated into theplatform, and the upper section of-said case is set into the lower section, and fastened to its place by rods.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the operation of my cotton-planter. n l

' It is designed to be operated by horse-power. The horses are hitchedto the shafts or tongue in front of the machine. The operator, takes his seat; the case 'G is filled with cotton-seeds as they come from the gin. As the machine is driven forward, the driving-wheels'A A turn the pinion B, which turns the. master-wheel E, attached by a shaft, as aforesaid, to the cylinder 0, and thus said cylinder is turned forward. The spikes a e c in said cylinder, and the corresponding spikes n n n in the cylinder-case G, serve to pick apart the fibre-covered cotton-seeds, and the spikes, aforesaid, are so adjusted in reference to the grooves D D D that said seeds must fall in such position as to pass longitudinally into said semi-tubular grooves, and the brushes H H will sweep the seeds into said grooves; so as to fill them respectively. If it be desired to fill said grooves with seed before moving the machine bodily, it may be accomplished by hand, using a crank on the upper pivot of cylinder 0,

or, omitting the crank, the operator's hand may readily turn the cylinder by .using the upper spikes c c c for handles instead of a crank, being careful, in either method, to have the cut-off or slide K closed at a until planting commences. I then commence planting the seeds by opening the slide K by pushing backward from my seat the handle of the lever O, which also liberates the spring N, and permits it to do its work. As the machine is driven over the ground, and the cylinder rev.olves, as aforesaid, the grooves D D D are kept filled with seeds, and, as a consequence, a seed lies in the lower end of each groove opposite said apertures at the outer end of spring N. As the cylinder Qrevolves, said spring N rises on said inclined planes J J, and, at the end of each of them, strikes therefrom, through said oblong apertures, againstthe sevcral'cotton-seeds there lying, and in turn as they' are presented flips or thr'owsthem through said opening at a into said tube P, through which they fall into the ground, and are covered by the shovel-like lower point of said tube as a drill covers seed. The machine drops the seed at intervals of about two and a half inches apart, but may be arranged to plant them farther'apart by diminishing the circumference ofthe pinion-wheel B, and closer by enlarging the same.

WhatI claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is--- I 1. The principle of planting cotton-seeds in the condition they come from the gin by a machine conveying said seeds from the upper part of a hopper or case in longitudinal rows to the place of delivery at the lower 1 end of saidcase, by means of brushes, picks, and inclined grooves circling around a revolving cylinder, as herein described, or any other substantially the same, and which will produce the same ends herein intended.

2. The principle of expelling cotton-seeds from the case or hopper of a cotton-planter singly. by the percussion of a spring raised on nndstriking from inclined planes, substantially as herein shown,

3. The construction and combined method of'operatin'g the slide or cut-off K and the spring N by means of the lever O and the pivoted and forked lever M, substantially as hcrein shown,

4. The construction of the entire cotton-planter machine, as herein described, for the purposes set forth.

JAMES ARMSTRONG.

Witnesses:

S. R. HARRIS, J. S. McGARItELL. 

